Friday, August 31, 2012

Hi folks, some hopefully somewhat disappointing news here. Due to the confluence of a variety of events that I couldn't or didn't plan ahead for (specifically, the RNC, a possible hurricane, and the start of the semester all coinciding with a retreat weekend where I won't be doing any other work), I've decided to push the release of my book Blown Horizonz: Psychedelic Noise, Abstract Rap, and Other Music That Will End Your Mind back to Thursday, September 13th. This will give me more time to get the word out and make sure everything is ship-shape.

Not to worry, though! In the intervening two weeks, I'll be providing you a few tantalizing teasers here and there - previews of what you can expect, maybe even a couple of possible outtakes that won't be included in the collection. For a start, here's a little taste of the cover art-in-progress. Woah, dudes!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

I finally got out to the small museum here in St. Pete. It's the kind of museum where they have everything from pop art to Jain shrines. These sorts of places are hard to really enjoy as total experiences, but I did get exposed to a few interesting new artists. George Inness, the landscape artist (seen above), has a kind of mystical haziness that I really appreciate.

The museum also has a piece by Mary L. Proctor, a folk artist. The piece in the museum is really spectacular and wild, though unfortunately it seems that more recently Proctor, who is now something of an institutionalized folk art figure, has turned to slightly more kitsch work like that above.

Finally, there's Victor Dubreuil a late-18th century "painter of money," represented by the work above. I've been doing a lot of writing and research about money as a medium lately, so it's doubly interesting to learn that there was an entire movement of money painters who produced representations of representations of value.

David Z. Morris is a successful early-career academic transitioning into something more dynamic and adventurous. Follow for insights into strategic communication, alternative careers for PhDs, and the occasional foray back into social theory on sound, media technology, and cultural globalization.

David is (for a bit longer) a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of South Florida, and can be found on Twitter @davidzmorris.

BLOWN HORIZONZ

David's book on psychedelic noise and hip hop is really good! Click to get it from Amazon!